After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

◎Could You Please Stay Away from Me?◎

The fabric was ready. The first step the guests needed to perform was melting the wax, and the key to this step lay with Qu Fu.

Looking at the cold, black charcoal, Qu Fu knew she had to start her experience from scratch by lighting the coals. She looked around, placed the charcoal into the stove, then lit a handful of dry grass and tossed it in.

As soon as the dry grass entered the stove, a large volume of thick smoke billowed out. The smoke made her eyes sting painfully, and she couldn’t stop coughing. Thinking the charcoal would eventually ignite this way, she stepped back a bit to escape the thick smoke.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

On the other side, Mu Yao, who was studying the wax-dotting tools, heard Qu Fu’s coughing and couldn’t help but turn around. The thick smoke rising from the stove gave him a bad premonition.

“Qu Fu, do you need help?”

Driven by that bad premonition, Mu Yao put down his tools and walked over to inquire.

“Ah, I’m fine. I put in charcoal and dry grass; it should light up!” Qu Fu had originally been coughing with her back to everyone, intending to get back to work once she caught her breath. Now, hearing Mu Yao’s voice behind her, she hurried to turn around and speak.

Although she had quickly moved away when the smoke first started rising, her face was still slightly blackened by the soot. With black and white patches all over her face, she didn’t look at all like a delicate starlet of the entertainment industry.

Mu Yao tried his best to control his facial muscles to keep his lips from curling upward. His expression of wanting to laugh but not daring to looked incredibly strange.

“That expression of yours… is my face a mess?” Qu Fu was sharp; she guessed her current state from Mu Yao’s expression.

“Yes. Um, did you only put in charcoal and dry grass? Did you put anything else in?” Mu Yao nodded bluntly. Knowing Qu Fu had no way to fix her makeup right now, he asked her directly.

“I need to put in other things?” Qu Fu rubbed her face with her hand. Realizing that rubbing it might only make it messier, she threw caution to the wind and dropped her hand, her eyes filled with a bit of confusion.

“How did little starlet Qu end up like this? Is lighting charcoal that hard?” At this point, the others noticed the thick smoke and gathered around. Bi Tu asked cheerily.

“It is hard. Teacher Bi, why don’t you try?” Even with a face blackened by smoke, Qu Fu remained proud. She tilted her head up and looked straight at Bi Tu.

“Ah, no, no. I still have to ponder the fabric dyeing issue. I actually have to start from the color coordination. Sigh!” Bi Tu shook his head and sighed, acting as if he had no time to help.

“Hmph! Mu Yao, keep talking. I’ll learn how to light charcoal.” Qu Fu snorted coldly, turning her head away to stop bickering with Bi Tu, and asked Mu Yao about the task at hand.

Mu Yao was just about to speak when he saw Cheng Zeyi already walking to the stove, skillfully poking at the charcoal inside.

“Qu Fu, charcoal won’t light this way. You need to place the tinder in order. Put the dry grass first, then small twigs. Once you’re sure the twigs have ignited and the fire is gradually growing, put in the small charcoal, and finally the large charcoal. You have to take it slow, layer by layer. Also, don’t be in such a hurry to put the pot on now; it will block the vents. Look, when the charcoal inside turns red and there’s no thick smoke, that’s success.”

Cheng Zeyi acted with great efficiency as he lit the charcoal while explaining the steps to Qu Fu. Qu Fu, with her smoke-stained face, listened intently.

Hey, looks like I’m not needed. This grand Movie King actually has some skills. Did he play a character who lit charcoal in the past?

Seeing that help was no longer required here, Mu Yao returned to the wax-dotting station to wait for Qu Fu to finish melting the wax. While waiting, he recalled Cheng Zeyi’s previous films; in his memory, it didn’t seem like Cheng Zeyi had ever played a poor character who would use charcoal fires.

With Cheng Zeyi’s help, the subsequent wax melting became much easier for Qu Fu. The hardest part of this step was controlling the heat; once that was mastered, the melting process would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Qu Fu placed the melted liquid wax beside Mu Yao. The liquid wax was kept in a small clay pot, with a charcoal fire underneath to maintain its temperature.

“Good luck!” Qu Fu, still sporting her messy face, cheered Mu Yao on with a serious expression.

Mu Yao nodded. He took a deep breath, dipped the wax knife into a small amount of liquid wax, and began dotting the wax along the lines on the fabric. The wax knife was very delicate, and dotting wax was a meticulous task that required great patience.

Mu Yao steadied his hands and carefully outlined the patterns, trying to make the liquid wax flow smoothly onto the cloth. While Mu Yao was focused, the others gathered around again. This time, they watched intently without anyone disturbing him. The camera silently zoomed in to focus on Mu Yao’s long, slender fingers.

The director looked at the lines under Mu Yao’s hand on the monitor and showed a satisfied expression. Those hands, showing not a hint of trembling, possessed an immense aesthetic beauty.

Even though the patterns were simple, the process still took a long time. When Mu Yao finally put down the wax knife, two hours had unknowingly passed.

“I’m sorry, I took too long.” Mu Yao felt a bit annoyed with himself. Their task rewards included lunch ingredients as well as cruise tickets; delaying time would mean making everyone else go hungry.

“It’s fine. The quality of the finished product is more important.” Bi Tu squinted his eyes, looking at the waxed fabric with satisfaction. He really wanted to see what it would look like once it was dyed and the wax was boiled off.

Rare, indeed—this old senior isn’t being sarcastic.

Mu Yao looked at Bi Tu in surprise. He didn’t say much and handed the waxed “Mountain God Color” fabric to him.

Bi Tu, having more life experience after all, knew he couldn’t fully master the color coordination, so he humbly asked the guide for advice. To complete the Mountain God celebration, the guide readily helped: using navy blue to represent the peaks, ochre to represent the earth, and crimson to represent divine power. The three vats of dye represented different areas of the fabric, making the immersion dyeing extremely difficult.

Bi Tu started with a smile, but when he put the fabric into the dye vat and felt the weight of the material once it was saturated with liquid, his smile began to fade.

“Quick, quick, quick! It’s so heavy! Help!”

His arms began to tremble. He originally wanted to pull the fabric back up but found he couldn’t lift it; the fabric even felt like it was sinking further into the dye vat. His hands were already submerged in the dye. To prevent more of the fabric from being stained by the wrong colors, he had to call for help.

“Yikes! It’s over the line! Pull it up, fast!”

Kong Yanfei had been watching the lines on the fabric. Hearing Bi Tu’s plea, she rushed over to help. However, the young girl was a bit reckless and used a bit too much force. With her help, the fabric was saved, but a lot of liquid splashed out of the dye vat.

Bi Tu’s face was splattered with dye, and he instinctively closed his eyes. Dye also got onto Kong Yanfei’s hair. Qu Fu, who was about to step forward to help, had the corner of her clothes splashed, while Cheng Zeyi and Mu Yao managed to quickly dodge the “dye attack.”

“Oh heavens! Uncle Bi, are you okay?” Kong Yanfei knew she had accidentally caused trouble. Ignoring her own hair, she hurriedly asked about Bi Tu’s condition.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. The dye is made of natural materials and isn’t harmful. I’ll just wash it with warm water and soap when we get back.” Bi Tu was an old hand and prioritized safety; he gripped the fabric tightly and shook his head, revealing a face dotted with blue spots to the camera. “Hehe, I’ve turned into a messy face too!”

“Are you really okay?” Kong Yanfei was still worried. She fumbled through her pockets and found a tissue to wipe Bi Tu’s face.

“Did any dye get in your eyes?” Mu Yao stepped forward, unbothered by the possibility of the dye staining his own hands. He took the fabric from Bi Tu and asked.

“No. I knew there was a risk of it getting in my eyes, so I took precautions in advance.” In this special situation, Bi Tu was honest and didn’t try to scheme against Mu Yao.

Mu Yao felt the weight of the fabric in his hands and felt that they would still need help to continue.

“Guide, the immersion dyeing phase must involve the Master Dyer, but are we allowed to help?” Before Mu Yao could even ask, Cheng Zeyi had already questioned the guide.

“Yes, as long as you ensure the Master Dyer is participating.”

Mu Yao saw a pair of long, bony hands reach out in front of him—it was Cheng Zeyi’s.

“Xiao Yao, let me do it. I have more strength.”

…This guy hasn’t found out yet, apparently. Good, saves me the effort!

Mu Yao silently handed the fabric to him. He took a tissue from Kong Yanfei to wipe his hands, then asked for another to wipe Kong Yanfei’s hair.

The fabric Bi Tu dyed wasn’t perfect; the colors were uneven in depth. The guide beside them kept shaking his head. Mu Yao looked at the uneven fabric and then at the guide’s expression, feeling that their lunch ingredients were in jeopardy.

The production crew wouldn’t be so cruel as to actually withhold the food, would they?

He thought to himself as he watched Cheng Zeyi and Bi Tu hang up the disastrously dyed fabric to dry.

“Mu Yao, do you think our lunch is still happening?” While the fabric was drying, Qu Fu finally found a way to clean the black soot off her face. She looked at the fabric with worry.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. Um, at least even if we starve, they won’t let Cham… Little Yanfei starve.” Mu Yao shook his head. His gaze caught Kong Yanfei; he had originally wanted to call her “Champion Sister,” but after thinking about it, he felt it was better to call her “Little Yanfei” directly.

“True, the little champion needs her nutrition.” Qu Fu thought for a moment, felt Mu Yao’s reasoning was sound, and let the matter rest.

While waiting for the dye to dry, they had to prepare the boiling materials for Kong Yanfei. Boiling used the most water; the water in the dye vats was already there, but the water Kong Yanfei needed had to come from the well.

Mu Yao stood by the well with a bucket. Given Kong Yanfei’s height, it was dangerous for her to draw water; she could easily fall in. He silently lifted the bucket, thinking to help the girl.

He had just dropped the bucket in, swaying it to catch the water, and was about to pull it up when Cheng Zeyi’s voice suddenly rang out, giving him a huge fright.

“Xiao Yao, why are you the one drawing water? This job takes strength; it’s not something a girl should do. Let me.”

Cheng Zeyi’s voice was gentle. He tilted his chin toward the rope in Mu Yao’s hand, indicating he could take over. His magnetic voice was filled with concern.

Mu Yao thought his voice sounded nice, but he couldn’t help but feel a few sparks of irritation. Since leaving the inn, Cheng Zeyi seemed to be hovering around him. Right now, he really didn’t want too much contact with Cheng Zeyi; he still wanted to complete the hidden task given by the production crew.

“Thank you, but could you please stay away from me?”

This time, Mu Yao didn’t want to accept the favor; he had to keep his distance from Cheng Zeyi. Mu Yao didn’t look at the surprised expression on Cheng Zeyi’s face. He turned back to look down into the well, preparing to pull the bucket up, only to find that at some point, a human face had appeared at the bottom of the well.

A pale face, pitch-black pupils, an or malicious smile on the lips—and the red dress she wore was the only bright color at the bottom of the well.

Mu Yao’s pupils instinctively constricted. Immediately after, he felt a heavy weight on his hands, and his entire body was pulled down toward the well.

“Watch out!”